


Tennis Racket

by VT44



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: AU, M/M, Slash, Slow Burn, Tags to be added, Tennis, WIP, paralysed character, paraplegic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 19:54:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VT44/pseuds/VT44
Summary: John Watson has made a return to tennis, if only to coaching, after a horrific accident ended his playing career and his life as he knew it.Upon meeting Sherlock Holmes, he realises he has never truly faced the demons of his past, which are preventing him from moving on with his future.WIP, Tags to be added





	

**Author's Note:**

> This little idea cam to me at the beginning of the Australian Open two weeks ago, and is also partially inspired by the beautiful fic A Study in Winning and its sequels by the wonderful Jupiter_Ash. 
> 
> It takes place in the current Open era, with a few small player changes. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! 
> 
> I'm hoping to update at least once a fortnight... but I start a new job next week, so we shall see how we go!

John Watson eased himself across onto the hard-green plastic Player Box seat, pulling his cap low and adjusting his sunglasses before settling into the seat. He grabbed a quick drink from his backpack before he folded his wheelchair, placing it under his seat. He was glad he had remembered the sunscreen, gently rubbing some into his arms, and applying a liberal amount on his face. The Player Box was currently bathed in sunlight, and whilst is was great for working on his tan, John did not want to get sunburnt so early in the day. Australia was sure turning the heat on for the 2017 ‘Summer of Tennis’ as it had been named by the local broadcaster.

Day One of the Open had been a beautiful 25 degree day with several clouds floating around, but for Day Two, today, they were predicting the mercury to be as high as 38 degrees with absolutely no cloud cover. If only they had received a better draw and played on Day One. Ah well, as much as tennis was a game of skill (and sometimes luck) there was always going to be those factors that were unable to be controlled.

 

John was at least, used to the heat and the unpredictability that Melbourne weather could bring, being born and bred in the city. It didn’t matter that he spent most of his year in England, he was still quite accustom to the sometimes oppressive heat that an Australian summer could bring. His charge though, Victor Trevor, he was born and bred in the northern most part of Scotland and was certainly not use to the heat. Every year they did try and come out to Australia just after Christmas for Victor to acclimatise and compete in either the Hopman Cup in Perth or the Brisbane International. Sometimes they decided to enter him in the APIA International tournament in Sydney or even the ABS Classic in New Zealand. There were so many smaller tournaments before the main grand slams that John had to make sure Victor didn’t wear himself out, but still had a chance of gaining enough points to continue to climb in the world rankings. John hoped that this year Victor would make it to the third or fourth round of the tournament at least. His ranking as 24th seed was impressive considering only last year he had failed to make it inside the top 50.  Knocking out some of the top 10 seeds in the first two rounds at Wimbledon last year certainly helped with his ranking, as was making it to the third round of almost all tournaments he played in.  

 

The stadium began filling up around him and would be full come 11am, John was sure of it. Victor was playing a local Melbournian by the name of Bernard Tomic, who was the highest ranked Australian male at the tournament. Victor would have a challenge on his hands but John could see no reason why he wouldn’t get through to the second round. Tomic was well known for having a slight temper when he got frustrated, so John had advised Victor to play annoying shots when it was tight and watch Tomic make mistakes. His biggest challenge would be if he came up against the newest English tennis prodigy, Sherlock Holmes. There was a chance that if things went their way Victor would possibly meet in the fourth round. John didn’t know a lot about Mr. Holmes, but what he did know was that he had a massive serve when he was on form and he took apart his opponents’ game with precision and drive. His matches never lasted longer than about two hours and he hardly ever dropped a set. He’d only appeared on the professional circuit about a year ago, but he was making a name for himself quite quickly. Not only due to his amazing tennis abilities but also due to his unpredictable nature. John had heard mixed reviews about the man, that he was abrupt and rude and did not seem to care for social niceties. But John tried not to judge anyone before he had met them, and as yet he had not had the opportunity to meet the mysterious Sherlock Holmes.

 

A sudden round of applause broke John from his thoughts and he glanced down to the court, which had been cleared of young children and instead the Linesman and umpire were walking out onto the court. Eventually both Trevor and Tomic entered the arena to rapturous applause from the audience. A many number of Australian flags could be seen around the arena, with a small collection of Scottish flags being seen on the opposite end to where John was sitting.

 

After a quick warm up between the players, and Tomic winning the toss choosing to serve first, Victor glanced up at him. John gave a small nod which was returned. John settled back into his seat, quite aware of the fact that apart from himself Victor’s box was empty. John sighed and knew that one day it would be full, when Victor eventually allowed his family to come and watch in person. After another sigh, John focused on the players ahead of him. The first ball of the match was ready to be smashed over the net.

 

Let the game begin!

 

**********************************************************************************

 

_“Good morning and welcome to Day Two here at the Australian Open. What a stunning morning it is here at Melbourne Park. It’s going to be a hot one, with the forcast predicted to be as high as 38 degrees. So anyone coming in today, please remember to stay hydrated and cool, and don’t forget the sunscreen!”_

_“Indeed Geoff. Now for a quick recap of yesterdays’ Day One significant results, those who are now through to the second round include Venus Williams, Molly Hooper and Sally Donovan for the Women and in the Men’s draw Murray, Federer, Wawrinka, Nishikori, Berdych, Cilic and Tsonga are all through. Notable Aussies through include Ash Barty and Nick Kyrgios.”_

_“True Glenn and today we’ve got a fantastic day coming up for you too. A number of Aussies in action including Tomic, Stosur and Garilova. Other notable matches today include Serena Williams, Nadal, Raoni, Zverev, Ferer and Monfils.”_

_“First up here though on Rod Laver Arena we have hometown favourite Bernard Tomic against Scotsman Victor Trevor. How do you rate their chances here today Glenn?”_

_“Ideally Tomic will get up for the home crowd, but his form has taken a hit at the end of last year. He is the highest ranked Australian presently in the tournament, so hopefully he will manage to keep that temper of his in check and use his aggression on the court to beat Trevor.”_

_“What are your thoughts on Trevor’s choice of coach Geoff?”_

_“Well we haven’t seen him here at the Open as a coach before. Trevor acquired a new coach midway through last year. It is not entirely clear what happened, but the rumours are that either Trevor did not appreciate the way his previous coach Dimmock spoke to him, or that Dimmock was indeed poached over to the US. But John Watson, his current coach, is an interesting character. You can see him already sitting in the box, which as is custom for Trevor, is empty apart from Watson.”_

_“Watson use to play, didn’t he?”_

_“Oh yes Glenn, he was at the top of his game. Definitely on the path to becoming the next Wimbledon champion. But something happened during the 2014 tournament at the beginning of the second week. He disappeared, no one is entirely sure what happened to him. There was no word from any of his family or friends. No one of the circuit knew what had happened either. His opponent that day was to have been Jim Moriarty but… Well when he returned to the public eye around half way through last year he was spotted at some courts up in the north of Scotland. The most surprising thing was Glenn, was that He was seen around the courts in a wheelchair. Then all of a sudden he was announced as Trevor’s new coach.”_

_“Was he in some sort of accident maybe.”_

_“It doesn’t do to speculate. Watson so far hasn’t said anything about it, nor does it seem he will. What ever happened he has moved on, and I get the distinct feeling that he would very much like us to do the same.”_


End file.
